(16-12-2013 03:36 PM)thedudette Wrote: This a question that I've been wanting to ask for awhile.

If they aren't lying about the experience then what could it be?
Hallucinations?

If anyone has an article about this I'd be happy to read it!

I would SO love to discuss this as it's been something that's troubled me for some time and getting to be honest with some truly rational people would be helpful.....
but........ I can't/won't get stalked here again and being honest is no longer an option for me - not about the past I've fought with anyway.

(16-12-2013 03:36 PM)thedudette Wrote: This a question that I've been wanting to ask for awhile.

If they aren't lying about the experience then what could it be?
Hallucinations?

If anyone has an article about this I'd be happy to read it!

I would SO love to discuss this as it's been something that's troubled me for some time and getting to be honest with some truly rational people would be helpful.....
but........ I can't/won't get stalked here again and being honest is no longer an option for me - not about the past I've fought with anyway.

I will definitely, however, be reading this thread with interest.

I don't follow. What do you mean Sabrina? You were stalked on the forums?

(16-12-2013 03:36 PM)thedudette Wrote: This a question that I've been wanting to ask for awhile.

If they aren't lying about the experience then what could it be?
Hallucinations?

If anyone has an article about this I'd be happy to read it!

As i strive to understand how people can believe in astonishing things with little credible evidence, I have come up with a scenario...I call it the church of the purple unicorn...bear with me..

Lets say i approach you, we have been friends/co-workers for a long while, and I am visibly excited. I tell you how I was invited to a meeting, a group called CPU, and they showed me some exciting things, and I wanted to invite you to the next meeting. (no it isnt AMWAY ) So I convince you to come, and you meet a nice group of uber friendly people who give you hearty handshakes and beaming smiles. Once all the pleasantries die down, and some food has been demolished, they start telling you about how an archaeologist had discovered an ancient text in a cave, and it described a purple unicorn that flew across the sky, and farted rainbow sprinkles, bestowing wishes for all those who truly believed. he did this until the non beleivers found him, and killed him, but as the believers stood weeping around his body, it started to glow, and *gasp* rise into the air, and with a whinny and a toss of his tail, he rose into the sky and as he disappeared he said, I will return, and bring you to paradise. These 12 believers were astonished and told everyone the story, they gained followers here and there....people are always drawn to smiles and excitement, and will pretty much believe anything, or pretend to, so they can be part of the group.

Now years later, this secret group has decided to spread the good word to the world, and you can get in on the ground floor! With much fanfare and drama, they whip aside a golden curtain and show you a golden telescope, they reverently beckon you to look into it..."look, and you can see him for yourself"...you look incredulously into it, but alas, dont see anything but the sky. You tell them you dont see anything, they give each other knowing looks and say "ahhh he only shows himself to those who truly believe, think hard about your belief, suspend your doubt, look again" then you get a gathering of folk behind you, slapping you on the back and nodding their heads....you look through the glass again...and even though you dont see anything, you start to think, there must be something to this...maybe I am just not ready yet....but you turn and gasp aloud "oh my unicorn! I see him, and he is glorious!". they all circle you and much merriment happens. they give you a copy of the BOOK OF UNICORN to cherish and study. Be strong, the non believers will question your faith, they are the enemy, and strive to steer you off the course of true enlightenment.

--------------------------------

Now this was totally pulled out of my ( i ) obviously, but there is a valid point I think. Is this how people get sucked into these belief systems? psychologically I mean.. I understand the desire for fellowship, to belong to a group, to be part of something bigger than you....your thoughts? Why do people profess to believe such astonishing things.....with zero proof besides a book and some philosophy of those who were also members of the group? I have always wondered this, I have never felt the need to be in a group, a huge need for belief in something in order to be able to face our basic human fear of death..and the unknown...death will come, and then I will be in final rest as my body rots and my consciousness fails with my last breath...I dont need to clutch a belief of golden roads and condos on the beach in paradise, or 72 virgins if I die as a martyr for Muhammad, or any other reward for believing something that seems so astonishingly hard to believe. The fact that the book is loosely tied to actual historical timelines is just an attempt to make it sound believable.

(16-12-2013 04:42 PM)WitchSabrina Wrote: I would SO love to discuss this as it's been something that's troubled me for some time and getting to be honest with some truly rational people would be helpful.....
but........ I can't/won't get stalked here again and being honest is no longer an option for me - not about the past I've fought with anyway.

I will definitely, however, be reading this thread with interest.

I don't follow. What do you mean Sabrina? You were stalked on the forums?